General Chat

Hiya All
Hope you all enjoyed Christmas and New Year. Sorry I have been away but picked up son and dil from Alicante on 16th December and dil had the dreaded bug and needless to say by the Sunday I was in bed most of the day - managed to get up for lunch - son cooked me a bacon sandwich. Back to bed for another few hours and managed to get up to cook the dinner. We did manage to go out for a walk Christmas day leaving turkey and roast pots in oven - when we arrived back the electric was off - needless to say dinner was late !!! We took son and dil back to Alicante on Boxing Day by which time hubby had caught the bug too. So the rest of the holiday we spent at home on our own - just lazying around not doing much. Anyway at long last we are both feeling better although my taste buds are not right yet !!!
New Years Eve was spent watching tv and we opened a bottle of champagyne to see in 2011 - all very pleasant.
So its back to normal now and I have a pile of ironing to attack.
Bridget I do so hope your back improves and you are soon back where you belong - in Peniscola. Please take care of yourself and stick to your guns and do not be blackmailed by your employers.
Oh and yes please we must keep this thread going.
Take care all and hope 2011 is good for you all.
Love Mary xx
ps off to put my name back to normal

Bless you Bridget, you have worked yourself to a standstill. Look after you, rest and enjoy your OH and friends and you will return to your normal self.

I am sos orry not to be writing much on here at the moment. THGANK YOU everyone who has been so patient and advising me so well, I really should have listened to you all so much earlkier but there you are all still with me as my cyber friends..
I am going out today for lunch with somefriends and my huisband. Suchsimple words but I have missed so muc by being in UK. This couple are so delightful and they have chosen somewhare near by and with very comfortable seating I am told.
I had forgotten just how bad my back can be BUT I think it is a little better today so please keep your fingers crossed for me.

The sun is shining, the sky is blue, the sea is blue and evrything looks so calm...this is helping me such a lot.

I wish you all very happiness, and send hugs and thanks through the eather.
Please say a little prayer for me as I so want to move on and start writing again , and being my normal happy self but right now I can't quite reach that relaxed stage. It will come I know but please let it come soon


Best wishes to you all

Bridget

Tess, hope you feel better soon.

Bridget, wow!! Great!!! So glad that you have decided to give up now. Well done.

Just popped in to catch up with everone and to say Hi!

Had a good Christmas Day. Yummy Beef Stew, with Dumplings and lots of lazying around.
Saw my son, his partner and my three grandsons on Skype. Wonderful, I got to have a good chat and saw them open the presents I had sent for them. Great Fun, and so easy for me, no mess whatsoever.
Finished the Beef Stew on Boxing Day, still very yummy, and no work! just had to warm it up.

Still tire rather easily and have sporadic nausea, both which rather slow me down.

Saw my sibs on Thursday at my sisters house. Went by bus, really great. Just a two minute wait for a first (which goes along my road) and then caught a bus right away when I changed to the second one. In fact, had to do my version of running!!!
(I'll whisper this bit .. while holding my big bellies, which were shaking all over the place! )
Had a great time, chatting and eating a lot.

Felt a bit rough in the night and yesterday. Still, all-in-all it was good timing, at least I was well on the days that counted.

Now feeling quite a bit better, bur won't stay on here too long as it makes my nausea worse.

Lovely to hear how everyone else is getting on.
Val, i love the idea of calling 26th december "The Day of Goodwill"
I will tell my son, he dpent a few months in South Africa, with VSO.

Bridget, I hope that rest and relaxation banish the pain that you have at the moment.
Your lemon tea sounds delicious, you couldn't do that in England.
Ann, you have been busy enjoying yourself!

Will have to go now, back soon,

Tess

Thank you everyone for posting on here and so glad that it seems this is worth keeping. So waht happened tome . Well we got away on time from Gatwick airport ansd arrived on tiume in Valencia and the minute I walked thorugh the door to my house I became the sleepiest person you could possibly know. My lower back is so painful that apart from lying down I dio not know what to do. The pain is all around my lowerf back and through my hips and into my legs. I have slept and slept and husband has been fantastic. We were suppossed to go out last night to watch the wonderful firewaorks but husband said absolutley not so instead we had a bottle of cxhampagne and some lovelt nibbles and then went to bed and I still feel tired and in pain.
I am not going back to work at all, will only go back to collect my belongings and the relief is enormous.

Well I hav just had a cup of Lemon tea, with the lemons from the garden and now I am going to shower and take some more pain killers. so Welcome everyone to 2011 may it be a wonderful year for us all.
Forgot to say that all six children telephoned to wish us a happy new year.

Sorry for my absence and thank you Bridget for keeping the thread going. I don't really have an excuse except I meant to add over the Christmas break however, over Christmas there were so many people and laptops around that it just became too difficult to get on line, then I ran my battery down and couldn't get to a plug to charge it up again. Anyway we came back the 27th, the paths and road and our drive were still snow bound. However it has now rained and washed the snow away thank goodness. We had no trouble getting down to Hampshire other than freezing fog over the Cotswolds.

We had a great Christmas, good to see the three grandsons and eldest's fiancee again.

Christmas Eve five of us went out to a nice Indian restaurant not far from their place for a meal, son in law's treat.

Christmas day, nice to have a leisurely start with no small children to wake us up this year! We started the day off with son in law's tradition of pork pie for breakfast, then had bucks fizz and bubbly while the presents were opened. Son in Law cooked a lovely lunch (that is if you can call 2.30pm lunch). Turkey, stuffing, sausage meat, chipolatas, bacon, red cabbage, roast carrots, potatoes and parsnips, broccoli, sprouts with ham and cream and bread sauce. Then we had the pudding my neighbour made in 2009 which was delicious with cream and brandy butter.

I had lots of lovely presents, a couple of favourites were a photo of the whole family plus eldest grandson's fiancee taken on second eldest's 21st and a photo of Eldest grandson and fiancee taken last year all dressed up for her 21st. Both photos in nice frames. Of course I had a few more that were more expensive but the photos were personal and special. Thankfully I had a cover for my kindle from daughter plus several other bits and pieces, jewellery from OH (2 pairs of earrings, a gold chain and two 'bead charms' for my bracelet) plus books and craft stuff and pyjamas. From son's family a beautiful book on the artist Clive Head that I had seen while in London but couldn't afford and another bead charm for my bracelet. (We are very much a present giving family). I had perfume, smellies and socks from friends so I feel very grateful.

Eldest grandson and fiancee joined us around 5pm to open their presents and chat, then in the evening there were the usual cold cuts and nibbles.

Boxing day we all went to Eldest grandson's house as is the tradition in his fiancees family we took left overs plus some chicken wings freshly cooked for the occasion. Her family were there too with their left overs and her Dad was cooking a huge amount of bubble and squeak in a large wok with all the left over veg. There were thirteen adults and three young children (who were sooo good) and we ate buffet style the cold turkey, hot wings, ham chipolatas and beef with the veg, red cabbage and mashed potatoes. We then had the choice of a baileys cheese cake (so rich but lovely) or a chocolate roll which OH said was delicious. Two lots of chocolates were doing the rounds as well. In the evening back at daughters we just managed a few nibbles and some cheese and biscuits.

On the Monday as I said, we came home and had to stop at the supermarket to get some food. That is the worst part of going away, no left overs to use up, so that night we had fish pie.

Today for New Year we are here on our own so I cooked a large chicken yesterday for our dinner and a small piece of gammon then this evening we shall have our cold cuts with cheese and pickles etc. Either tomorrow or Sunday we shall have duck.

I have been trying to tidy this office as in a week or so we have to lay a new carpet in here which means shifting out six shelves of books, three 3 drawer sets of craft stuff etc.
Tess, good to see you on here, I wondered where you were. Bridget, I hope you have enjoyed your time at home. It wont be long now before you go home for good.

A Happy New Year to all on this thread, hope 2011 will be a healthy, happy year for you all.

Ann x

Another Christmas has come and gone. Hope you all had a lovely time with family and friends. We had a very nice meal with our friends from East London, my friend had made us each a special cracker with a gift inside - mine was a tube of lovely hand cream. I had some little star-shaped chocolates which I just tossed onto the table much to everyone's delight. Boxing Day or The Day of Goodwil as it is now called over here passed quietly and our friends left on the Monday morning. My sister is still with us she goes home on 6 January.

Our three rain water tanks are now in position and as we had a little rain this week there is a bit of water in them. The forecast for this weekend is heavy rain so we may well get some run-off.

I guess you are having a fabulous time at home Bridget, enjoy!! Not long till you are there permanently.

Well the mundane chore of bringing in the washing awaits me so I had better get moving as the sky is quite overcast at the moment - hopefully that means rain.

Will you be partying the old year out - if so have a great time.

Happy New Year.


Val.

Tess you lift my soul and my pride, thank you

I would like to keep this going I have had such fun times, sad times and interesting times so far so look out 2011, we are still here and will be for the whole year.
I will write again when I am home , that is when I am home. Over thae last year or so I have come to understand what home means to me...

Have a wonderful 2011 everyone.

I always was a bit of a plodder, Bridget.
Recently I haven't been on the boards (or even on-line) much at all.
Other things keep getting in the way.

I hope that in the New Year things will change. I really look forward to reading the messages on your thread, so keep them comong everyone (please)

Only two more sleeps before you fly to Spain, Bridget. You really have got something to look forward to.
Then only a very short time before yoy retire!!!

A well deserved one, I'm sure.

Take care,

Tess

last day at work for a while. We had a wonderful lunch and on e of the ladies toasted the chef and thanked everyone foor their hardwork.
i really do not want to end this thread but wonder if it has come to a natural end, If you have an opinion re this please let me j=kvow and we can either say our goodbyes or simply plod along,

Enjoy the Bank Holidays

best wishes
Bridget

Glad you think so Valerie, Maybe everyone is just too busy.
Have a happy Christmas day

It was worth a try Bridget

nudge

Hello everyone, so sorry noy=t to have written on here for a little while. work life has been chaotic to say the least and very lomg hours yet again ,,,all quite boring so I am not going to talk about it,
Praying hard that I can get a flight home on 27th early in the day. The forecast keeps changing but I shall go to the airport what =ever the weather and simply wait!

I tried to persudae Boss man that it would be OK for me not to return to work especially as the new manager will start on the fourth of Januray which is the second day of my two week holiday, but he said no I have to come back and work upt ot the 4th february....Oh well I suppose he wants his monies worth. he has already told me that the new chap will not want much induuction soo quite what i shall be doing I do not knw.
OK I have my ramble so now I can put them to oneside.

We need some suggestions about how we move forward and bring some of our previous contributors back here...any ideas

I have some wonderful pictures in my head of the palces that people have described and sometimes look back as well and am surpised at how many subjects we have discussed since the thread started,
Well once again I have rambled on so have a greta Christmas and enjoy yourselves and if you need a few quiet moments just send a message on here.
Bridget

The rushing around is over - I hope! Now waiting for friends fromEast London to arrive.

On Christmas day we usually start the day going to church then it's home for tea and getting the lunch ready. As this is the middle of summer we settle for cold meat and salads, it is just too hot to slave over a hot stove. After lunch we just laze around! This is our first Christmas without my older brother, and my other brother's wife who is ill was admitted to the Frail Care Unit last week so he will be alone over Christmas, fortunately his very good friends have invited him to lunch, as they will be braaing they seem to be puzzled as to what they should give him to eat as he is a vegetarian!! He will be happy with salads which he loves.

Bridget I do hope all goes well and you are able to fly on the 27th. Have a wonderful time at home.

May you all have a very happy Christmas.



Val.

Everything crossed Bridget, that all will be ok on the 27th for your flight home.

Cold and snowy here in Birmingham, however some planes have landed at BirminghamInternational instead of Heath Row.

Have got son and two younger grandsons here at the moment. So a very busy time for me.

Will be back when not so busy.

Tess

nudge

Jonathan Welcome to our thread. I am Bridget who started this thread one morning when I was up early watching beautiful scene across the Med. It has been a great success and we write whenever we can about where we live, what is happemning locally and in the world, we have supported each other through difficult time, written about where we live etc. It is rather similar to having Penpals.

A an English nurse, who is about to retire I recall only to well how we used to walk around the hospital with our capes turned insideout as the meant we were dressed in red and sang Christmas Carols in every ward. It was a moving and wobnderful experience. I do not know if it still happens but I do hope so although I suspect that there has been a motion to say that this could cause non Christains some distress.......Politics gone mad.

We all welcome you aboard and hope to hear from you soon.

To everyone else you will all know that I am counting the days to retirement and also hoping and praying that the snow stops falling and I can get my flight home in the small hours of the morning on 27th...please pray with me or call the gods or whatever may help!!!
Going to have my lunch now but will look in again at the end of today.

Just wondered if anyone has "Christmas Rituals" they would like to share

Bridget

After a dull start to the day yesterday the day turned out to be quite hot -28C.

How nice to "see" a new face on here Jonathan, please drop in again.
|I am in South Africa and the storms which you describe sound like those we have in some parts of this country. I must admit I do not like lightning so am glad that where we live now we don't have many storms. I remember as children my mother would make us sit perfectly still during a storm - we hardly dared breathe!! She would cover all the mirrors with blankets and we could not sit in front of the win dows.

The stands for our tanks are being done to-morrow and the tanks will be installed next week.

My sister eventually arrived at 11.15p.m. last night after a 16 hour journey
on the bus.

I have been watching Sky News, seeing all the snow heard that some people have been stranded at the airport for hours. Do take care all who are "snowed in".


Val.